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| Photo Courtesy: Jonathan Alvarez |
"House of Hummingbird", directed by female writer/director Bora Kim is a tender coming-of-age story about a young woman growing up in Seoul South Korea in the year 1994. The film stars Ji-hu Park, Sae-byuk Ki, Seung-yeon Lee and In-gi Jeong.
The film feels intimate, and personal and existential. There's a simplicity to it that comes in part from a minimal score. I think that the story is carried in a similar spirit as some of Ingmar Bergman's greatest films such as "Cries and Whispers" and "Wild Strawberries."
The protagonist is an eighth grader named Eun-hee, played by Ji-hu Park. In addition to dealing with the normal growing pangs of adolescence, the shy Eun-hee has many family pressures to cope with including continuous reminders and unrelenting pressure to excel in school (she isn't a bad student) and bullying from her brother--something her friend Jisuk Jeon also relates to.
At different times in the film, it is subtly expressed that Eun-hee is seeing a boy named Ji-wan (Yoon-seo Jeong) and a girl, Yu-ri. Kim doesn't draw too much attention to this particular detail, choosing to let it simmer in the background, providing more enrichment to the story and character as she explores her sexuality.
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| Photo Courtesy: Jonathan Alvarez |
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| Photo Courtesy: Jonathan Alvarez |
In one telling scene, her mother explains that her daughter can't be "a delinquent but has to study hard and become a college student." She goes on to say, "that's the only way you'll gain respect."
It's a lot of pressure for the girl who, in a moment of vulnerability, admits to her tutor that she loves drawing cartoons.
During a routine visit to the family doctor, the 14-year-old learns that she has a health condition and her parents don't seem to be very involved.
There is a scene where we witness some of the tension at home and see firsthand her parents fighting, and an act of violence that leaves her father bleeding, her sister crying, and we begin to understand why Eun-hee is withdrawn.
In an act of rebellion, she shoplifts a pen from a small shop with her friend. When the shop owner catches them, he calls Eun-hee's father, and is shocked to hear the father's response and has trouble believing that a father would respond in such a way when he tells the owner to turn her over to the police. The shop owner asks if he's actually her father.
Her tutor, Miss Young-ji is kind to her and the two form a friendship. This is vital for the girl who hasn't had a positive experience with the adults in her life.
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| Photo Courtesy: Jonathan Alvarez |
Overall, I found Kim's story had a weightiness to it and her characters felt authentic.
At the end of the film, the narrator asks poignant questions through a letter Eun-hee is reading:
"What's the right way to live? Some days I feel like I know, but I don't know for sure. I just know when bad things happen, good things happen too and that we always meet someone and share something with them."
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